Slipping Up
by dArkliTe-sPirit
Summary: But...but he was a jerk to you. You deserve way better. ....like me." BillyxPenny Mild spoilers for Act III


.....well, not much to say......except I'm evil, a serious critique with advice would be loved, and Dr. Horrible rocks.

And, of course, I don't own THE Blog.

* * *

Penny could not believe her ears. She had asked him to do a simple speech, just to remind people on how this new building was a step in the right direction, a way to help the city, but that everyone still needed to help when they could. And then Captain Hammer had screwed it up. Suddenly, it was just him who could solve the homelessness problem and that everyone else was useless. When he brazenly declared that they had had sex, that was just too much for her.

She got up from her seat on the stage and walked over to the stairs. No one noticed; they were too busy watching Captain Hammer. Billy was right - there was a third layer, and it was cheesy. Just like the first layer. She shook her head. They would talk tomorrow, and she would end the relationship. She knew she deserved more than the hero who saved others just for praise.

Something inside told her Billy would be overjoyed.

She smiled as she went down the stairs. It was funny; she had only started to talk to Billy for about three weeks now during her trips (and during one of them, he had been absent from the laundromat) and she couldn't imagine what she would do if Billy didn't come back. He was cynical, yes, but he listened attentively to her and, when she made him smile, it made her feel better than any time she had helped the homeless. Captain Hammer had never inspired the same feeling.

Maybe she would talk to Billy tomorrow as well. The laundromat would probably have his address or something if he didn't show up again.

Penny had nearly reached the side exit when there was an electrical sound and Captain Hammer's speech stopped abruptly. She stopped as well. Then came the evil laughter that sent chills up her spine. She turned to see a man in a white lab coat hop down from the platform where Capain Hammer's statue was supposed to be, and start up the aisle. He was speaking, but Penny wasn't paying attention to the words. She crouched down by a row of chairs. That had to be Dr. Horrible. Captain Hammer warned her how dangerous he could be.

His voice was familiar. She watched as he hopped on stage. Captain Hammer wasn't moving, but he didn't look dead. She gulped. She didn't like him, but she would never condone murder. Dr Horrible then spoke, and she finally began to pay attention to his words.

"I think you're slipping."

Wait. Now she knew how she knew the voice. After the truck, when Captain Hammer had saved her. Someone had been yelling that he had just shoved her in the garbage. Apparently, that was Dr. Horrible. Odd. A villain with a sense of honor? But that wasn't just it....

She watched as he walked down the aisle before kneeling in the aisle, next to one of Captain Hammer's fangirls, still continuing his speech. Too quiet for her to hear. Darn. She just KNEW she knew his voice from somewhere else. She stood up a little, still hidden behind the fearful watchers. He stood back up and continued down the aisle.

"Fire up your brain. Remind yourself inside, you're rioting. Society is slipping." Weird. That almost sounded like Billy for a moment. Coincidence, of course.

"Everything's slipping away, so..." He reached over to the platform where a large shiny silver gun stood and picked up a red-and-black one. Before she could wonder what it was, he fired a shot at the ceiling.

That was when chaos broke loose.

He was still speaking, but Penny could barely hear him over the stampede to escape. She took shelter behind a fallen chair and waited until the yelling and firing of the gun had died down. She peeked up. Dr. Horrible was looking around and speaking quietly. She could just barely hear him.

"No sign of Penny. Good. I'd give anything to not have her see...." He trailed off. She frowned. How did he know her name? She was anonymous in the newspapers. He walked back up to the stage and raised the gun at Captain Hammer, a small tic developing near his eye. For someone so dangerous and menacing a few minutes ago, he looked a bit...weak.

"It's gonna be bloody." A gulp. "Chin up, Billy, buddy." Wait.

"'Billy, buddy'?" she whispered. She...she told that to Billy. How did he...?

Oh Lord.

Penny stood up. It made sense. Billy admired Bad Horse; Dr. Horrible was unwilling to hurt her; Billy hated Captain Hammer; Dr. Horrible and Billy both thought society was in trouble. Dr. Horrible even looked a bit like Billy. Was this... Billy? Was Dr. Horrible Billy?

"Here goes no mercy!" The gun was pointed at Captain Hammer's chest. Oh no. She couldn't let Billy ruin his life like this.

"Billy?"

'Dr. Horrible' yelped, fumbled with the gun a minute, nearly dropping it, and whirled to face her. She recognized that expression. It was the same one Billy had given her when she first talked to him in the streets - a combination of starstruck and sheer nervousness.

"Pe......uh, what, lady? I'm kinda in the middle of..." He gestured at Captain Hammer. "Yeah. That." He sounded so fake.

"Billy." She adopted a warning tone and folded her arms to show she meant business. "I know it's you." Everyone left in the room was watching. Let them. Billy winced.

"Penny, can you please leave? It's...gonna be messy, you know? I tried the Death Ray on a few things." He lifted the gun a little - she guessed that was the Death Ray. "It causes death by ....it sorta makes the target explode a little. I don't want you to see that!" He was pleading with her. She let her arms fall to her sides and exhaled.

"What if I don't want you to see that either?" He blinked at her. "Billy, I know you want change, but killing ANYONE, even-" She just pointed at the frozen superhero. She didn't want to say his name, really. "- it won't do it. It'll just hurt you. Please. Forget it."

"But...but...but Bad Horse is watching!" He sounded so much like a young child that Penny had to try not to smile. The situation was too serious.

"Bad Horse doesn't matter. YOU matter!" Billy was watching her carefully, eyes occasionally darting back to Captain Hammer. "What's best for YOU?"

"Um....." He bit his lower lip. She recognized the gesture - usually when he wasn't sure about something. He wasn't as resolute about this as he had seemed after all. She could still talk him down.

"Look, Captain Hammer's a jerk-" He looked up at her. He obviously did not expect that "-and I know that now. But he's still a human being. Just...please, we'll leave him. Just let the press have a field day knowing that you stole his statue and tricked him. They'll love it."

Billy looked down. "But...." She could tell, he was out of arguments except for revenge. He just wanted to get back at Captain Hammer for all of his humiliations. "....but he was a jerk to you. You deserve way better." A pause. "Like me." Now he looked up.

"Huh?" Her mind reeled. He suddenly turned red and clapped a hand over his mouth, as if he hadn't meant to let those last words slip out. "Why....why would..." Wait. Was that....was that a confession? Did he want to be with her? Did he LOVE her? If not, then he at least liked her enough to believe he was better for her.

Penny swallowed. She'd feel bad about this later.

"Billy, PLEASE don't do this. For MY sake." She felt guilty, using his feelings to get what she wanted. But it was for everyone's own good. It wasn't like asking for a necklace, she was asking him to spare a life and protect his own. She watched.

Billy twitched slightly, looked down, and groaned. "....fine." She smiled. Despite Captain Hammer, maybe she'd have her happy ending after all. The shelter, no deaths, and Billy. This time, love would work. She knew it.

That was when there was a new sound.

Penny and Billy both looked over at the gun standing on the platform. Penny blinked. It had been glowing before; now it wasn't.

"That's not a GOOD sound..." She looked over at Billy - just in time to see Captain Hammer's punch send him flying off the stage.


End file.
